came to Pythagoras in Italy where the cunning Philosopher rooked him of his Money by perswading the poor Man that he was his God And to convince him of the Truth of it they say That Pythagoras shewed him his golden Thigh and then which was worst of all made him swear the People into a Belief that he was Apollo himself If any other Author mentions any of these wonderful Things he declares that he hath it only from report or by hearsay and so leaves the Reader to judge of the Truth of it But most of these things are positively affiâ—med by Porphyry and his Scholar Jamblichus only they vouch nameless Authorities for them to shew they were not of their own devising which yet one can't forbear to think of as many of them as are not to be found in other Authors But why should these Philosophers either be so wicked to abuse the Faith of Mankind in devising such Stories Or why should they take the Pains to Collect them and Pawn their Faith to give them Credit in the World Such great Men as they were had no doubt great Reason for this But what that should be deserves a farther Consideration wherein if I do a little exceed I know you will not only Pardon me but will take the fault upon your self if these Papers should come to be publisht through your hands It is certain that these Men had a vehement Hatred against the Christian Religion not only through the Prejudices of their Education but much more on the account of that way of Philosophy by which they so much valu'd themselves and had got so great a Fame in the World They had no Patience to see that sort of Learning that had been so long in Possession of Glory among all civiliz'd Nations now to be brought in Disgrace by a Religion which they accounted to be no better than Folly and Nonsense and yet pretending to Divine Revelation would shew that they by all their Wisdom knew not God Their Indignation at this was much the more because thâ—s New Religion sprung up among the Jews whom they look't upon as much the worst of the barbarous Nations and the first Teachers of it were justly as these Philosophers thought both hated and contemned by the Jews as much as the Jews themselves were by all other Nations That the Author of this Sect our Lord Iesus Christ himself bore no greater Figure in the World than that of a poor Carpenter and that his Apostles and Followers were unlearned and ignorant Men this is own'd to the Glory of God by those among themselves that writ his History and their's in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles And that these very Books were written by Men of that sort even by them whose Names they bear this I think hath not been gain-said by any that lived within some hundred years after Christ But it hath been acknowledged by those learned Heathens that writ against the Christian Religion and especially by Julian who of all others was best able to inform himself But what is it that these Men say of their Master in the Account they give of him and of them that were the first Publishers of his Doctrine how they came to have such Authority in the World They say he wrought in their Presence an infinite number of Miracles and particularly those which they have published for the Proof as well of his Authority as of his Doctrine They say also of themselves that in their Preaching of him and his Doctrine the Lord worked with them confirming their word with Signs following They laid the chief Stress of their Proof upon his Resurrection from the Dead Of which not only his Apostles were Eye-witnesses but above 500 Persons most of them then living when St. Paul appeal'd to their Testimony And that he did in an Epistle which was written within some 20 years after the matter of Fact The Apostles especially took it on themselves as their Office to be Witnesses of his Resurrection For the faithful Discharge whereof as they could expect nothing but Sufferings in this Life so they desir'd nothing more than to finish their Course by dying for it And they were not deceiv'd in this Expectation all of them being continually persecuted as long as they liv'd and many of them suffering Death for the Testimony of Christ. They were charged with no other Crime in this World As for what they write of his Miracles and also of their own which they profest they wrought only by a Power derived from him the truth of the matters of Fact we do not find was ever question'd by any that lived in that Age. On the contrary we see it was acknowledged by the Pharisees the most malicious and vigilant Enemies of our Lord Iesus Christ and of his Holy Apostles No doubt it puzled their Wise heads to think how ' such wonderful Works should be wrought by such simple illiterate Men. For one cannot think they could satisfie themselves with the account which they gave others of the way that Christ had to cast out Devils when they said that he did it by the Prince of Devils for as he there answer'd them it was visibly against the Devil's Interest to do this the Miracles of Christ being plainly in those Instances to dispossess the Devil of Men's Bodies and by that and other beneficial Works to oblige them and others to receive a Doctrine that would also dispossess him of their Souls But besides the absurdity of this it is plain the Jews did not believe themselves in this Accusation of Christ. For if they had they would have insisted on this as being a Capital Crime not only by their Law but also the Roman And therefore to be sure they would not have been to seek for other Crimes if they had thought they had any Colour to charge him with this But that which the Pharisees said then of that one sort of Miracles though it was against all Reason and against their own Conscience yet for want of a better Colour for their unbelief the Jews in after times have alledged against all the Miracles of Christ and his Apostles and Followers This we see in those Objections of the Jews whom Celsus brings in arguing against the Christian Religion these Jews on this very account rank our Blessed Saviour with Pythagoras of whom enough has been said and with such other Heathen Impostors of whom more will be said afterwards But for those Jews whom Celsus produces since it hath been sufficiently shown that they ought not to be admitted as Accusers in this Cause therefore they might be dismissed but that the same Celsus gives us occasion to make use of them as our Witnesses as to those Matters of Fact which he denies when he comes to speak in his own Person as a Heathen and one that was an Epicurean Philosopher For then he is pleas'd to say That
what things our Scriptures tells us of the Miracles of Christ and his Apostles are all Fictions and Tales This he saith more than once And yet he doth not pretend to prove the Writers of them were Lyers or to shew any Inconsistence either in the Miracles themselves or in the Accounts that are given of them So that he expected Men should take his Authority for this But why so He could say nothing of these matters on his own Knowledge for he writ in the Emperour Hadrian's time or something later and that was at least 50 years after any of those Miracles that are mentionâ—d in our Scriptures Nor doth he pretend to have any ground to say this either upon hear-say or from what he found in former Writers If he had referr'd us to other Writers it would have been very great News For of all that have written in the times of Christ and his Apostles there is none Iew or Heathen that makes any mention of their Miracles which is a plain sign they knew not what to say against them Otherwise they would have spoken as spitefully of them as they spared not to do of Christ himself But how could Celsus answer this to his own Conscience that whereas of the Miracles wrought by Christians in his own time he saw there was no denying the matters of fact and therefore he affirmâ—d that these Miracles were wrought by Invocation of the Devil which was the same in effect that by his own telling the Iews said of the Miracles that were wrought by Christ and his Apostles he should nevertheless have the Impudence to say that these were Fictions and Tales as if He knew Christ and his Apostles better than the Iews in whose Country they liv'd and whose Ancestors were conversant with them or as if Christ himself could not work as true Miracles as were done in Celsus's time and to his own knowledge by Christians that wrought their Miracles in his name This learned man took surely a likelier way to disparage the Miracles of Christ to the unthinking part of Mankind by likening the great things that are said of Christ to those that we read of Aristeas Proconnesius and of Abaris in Heathen Writers But they that Think what they read will consider that of the former of these the first account we have is from Herodotus and he tells it only by Hear-say He says they say that Aristeas died at Proconnesus and appear'd there again 7 years after and having made some Verses disappear'd but that two or three hundred years after he appear'd again at Metapontum where by special direction from Apollo he was worshipped as God Of Abaris Celsus tells us himself that he had such a Power or Faculty that he rode about upon an Arrow through the Air over Mountains and Seas in his Travels out of Scythia into Greece and back again into Scythia as both Porphyry and Jamblichus tell us at large These things Celsus tells us without any Censure as if he believ'd them to be true And so they are as much as his Book is a true Discourse which is the Title he gives it Whoever considers these Stories I think will not much regard the Iudgment that He passeth on the Miracles of Christ and his Apostles But the Way that he took to bring them in disgrace by ranking them with those incredible Fables this took mightily with the learned Heathens that came after him And therefore I doubt not it was that both Philostratus writ the life of Apollonius Tyaneus and that Porphyry writ the Life of Pythagoras which led me into this Digression They seem to have been written both of them with this design I am sure they are both of them made use of to this purpose to shew that all the great things that are told of our Saviour in the Gospel were equall'd if not out-done by these Heathen Philosophers As for Porphyry his hatred of the Christian Religion he shew'd sufficiently in writing 15 Books against it the Loss whereof though some of our Deists complain of yet they may be assur'd for their comfort they will not want the help of any of our learned men to bring them to light We want them indeed on many accounts but especially to shew them that as they have Porphyry's malice so if they had his great Learning too both these join'd together would not hurt the Christian Religion We should want his Books the less if we had any of those Answers that were written against him by three learned Christians Methodius Eusebius and Apollinaris But as Holstein well observes the Roman Empire being turned Christian within very few years after the writing of these Books as the Emperors took care by their Edicts to keep them from coming into the hands of the Vulgar so for learned men they had now no occasion to transcribe them or preserve the copies that were written Of the time of Porphyry's writing these Books we have nothing certain save that we are told they were written when he was in Sicily And the time of his coming thither as he tells us himself wâ—s about the 15th of Galienus the Emperour that is about the year of Christ 267. He acknowledgeth that being in Rome at that time he had a mind to kill himself which Plotinus discover'd and upon his chiding him for it he left him and went away into Sicily What it was that enraged Porphyry to that degree that he must needs kill himself he doth not say Probably it might be out of madness to see That Emperour's favour to Christians whom his Father Valerian had done all he could to destroy If that was the reason of this Philosopher's being weary of his life he had some ease within a few Months in the death of that Emperour and then a Succession of others that wanted only a fit season for the renewing of the Persecution And it might be as well to quicken them to that Woâ—k as to ease his own passion that he set himself to the writing of these Books Wherein as all that quote from them observe he out-did all others in virulent Railing and Scoffing at the Christian Religion As for his Arguments it cannot be imagined that there was any thing of strength in them more than what Julian the Apostate took into the work that he writ afterwards on that Subject And to our comfort as well as the Deists That work is not lost It hath been often published with Cyril's answer to it but never so much to the Reader 's advantage as now lately in the excellent Spanhelm's Edition Whether it was before or after these Books that he writ the life of Pythagoras we cannot certainly know for the life it self is imperfect both at the beginning and the end and the whole Book is but a part of his History of the lives of Philosophers But whereas these lives of his as Holstein observes were all made up of
that had no design to serve with a Lye would have named before Apollonius Tyaneus whom yet Hierocles so much admires that he thinks himself modest for saying only this He was a Favourite of the Gods whereas the Christians say that Christ was God himself for those few strange things that are told of him First For Philostratus on whose single word all the credit of this story of Apollonius depends of what value his word is must be judged by considering how he was qualified for an Historian To begin with the opportunities he had to inform himself it is certain he could say nothing of his Own knowledge For as himself tells us Apollonius died a few weeks after the Emperour Domitian that was in the year of our Lord 96. But Philostratus did not write this till above a hundred years after How came he then by all the stuff with which he hath filled a large History He tells us that while he lived in the Court of Julia that most infamous Empress the Mother and Wife of that horrible brute Caracalla the Minutes of Apollonius's Life written by one Damis that lived with him were presented to her by one of Damis's Relations and she being a Lover of fine Language delivered them to this Sophist Philostratus to put them into a handsome dress But that we may not think these Minutes were all that he had for the furnishing of his History he tells us he had besides an account from one Maximus of Aegae how Apollonius past his time in that Town for the two or three years that he lived there being then about 20 years of Age almost a Boy as Hierocles words it And this is all the help he had from these two Lovers of Truth as Hierocles calls them But there was besides one Moeragenes that writ IV Books On or Against Apollonius but he is not to be heeded saith Philostratus because he was ignorant of many of our Stories so he lost the Honour of being recorded by Hierocles for one of the lovers of Truth In short except the little things that hapned in the short time that Apollonius was at Aegae for any thing else of his Life Philostratus doth not pretend to have any Author but Damis Yet all that he had of Damis was no more than a table-Table-book of Minutes as Philostratus owns And those might be written by any one else for ought he knew For it was a hundred years after Damis's death before he saw or heard of them Till then they were not known And then a Nameless man pretending to be a relation of Damis brought them and said they were written by Damis Thâ—s is all the Authority we have for Philostratus's Legend But he saith in the Chapter before he had some things from Town-talk in the places where Apollonius had been and some things he had that other men said of him and some things from Epistles that Apollonius had written to Kings c. As for the Talk of things done a hundred years ago that is very uncertain but of what Authority were these Epistles There may well be a doubt of this For the Epistles in Diogenes Laertius were generally forged by Sophists And Philostratus being a Sophist and one that knew how to write to Kings might be the very man that forged the Epistles now extant We have reason to like them the worse for agreeing too well with his History But besides he seems to doubt that his Reader might suspect these Epistles and therefore question his History To fence against this he saith he took things that were more certain from the Authors that he names afterwards Damis c. Of how little credit those Authors were we have seen And if things taken out of them were more certain as he himself tells us then there is no credit at all to be given to his Epistles So much for the Authority now for the Matters of his History Some of them I dare say were such as Lucian had never heard of and yet He liv'd mid-way between Apollonius and his Historian Particularly I cannot believe he ever heard of that Story of Apollonius how he made the people at Ephesus stone an old Beggar who as He told them was a Daemon and when the Stones had made a Hillock over his body he bad the people remove the Stones which they did and found under them not a man but a Mastiff as big as the biggest sort of Lion and foaming at Mouth as if he had been mad So likewise he tells how Apollonius being invited with many other Guests by his Friend Menippus to his Wedding he found that the amiable Bride was a She-Devil that was in love with Menippus and pretending to be a great Fortune had provided the Wedding Dinner with a noble Antendance and all manner of Delicacies but upon his telling his Friend what she was she together with her Attendance and Dinner vanisht leaving Apollonius to make her Excuse to the Bridegroom and his Company Here were Subjects for Lucian to have bantered upon beyond any that are in his Book so that because they are not There I say again one may be sure he never heard of them He that could thus descry Devils might as well ken Souls one would think and tell what Bodies they had passed through especially being a Pythagorean Philosopher I have shewn Apollonius could do that as well as Pythagoras himself though Philostratus doth not tell us that ever his Soul dwelt as that of Pythagoras did in the Body of a Son of Mercury that had that Gift from his Father But he was not to be measur'd by Pythagoras being as Philostratus tells us far the greater Man of the two He out-did him in many things and particularly in this that he could call up the Souls of any of the Heroes and entertain himself with them at his Pleasure Particularly at the Tomb of Achilles where that Heroe appear'd sometimes frightfully to others who therefore warn'd Apollonius not to come near him he laught at them and spent a whole Night there in Conversation with Achilles till the Cocks-crowing which it seems warns the Sprights away But the next day he told his Company all this how the Ghost appear'd to him at first but five Cubits high but rose up by degrees to be twelve perhaps swelling with Indignation against his Countrey-men of Thessaly of whom he bitterly complained That whereas they used to worship him formerly now they had this good while left it off He called Apollonius by his Name And told him I am glad you are here for I have long lookt for such a one as you to tell them of this But for one thing he expostulated with Apoâ—lâ—nius too That he had receiv'd into his Company one Antisthenes that was of the race of King Priamus and that used to sing the Praises of Hector whom belike Achilles hated even after Deaâ—h But it seems Apollonius having done this
he was rejected with Reproach Therefore he went from them among the Men and there offering himself at the same Exercise he was Victor This was our Philosopher according to D. Laert. VIII 48. who hath all this from Eratosthenes Favorinus and Theaetetus Iamblichus hath the same and many others Eratosthenes says farther that our Philosopher was the first that boxed according to Art Yet D. Laert. cites a Poet that saith this was Pythagoras Son of Crateus Hesychius saith they are mistaken that think it was the Philosopher Pythagoras's Age 1 N. PYTHAGORAS Son of Mnesarchus Years before Christ 586 5. Olympiads 48 3. descended from Hippasus who was formerly of Phlius by Pythaïs who was descended from Ancaeus one of the Planters of Samos There most Writers say he was born though Porphyry would have him born at Tyre and Jamblichus at Sidon perhaps as being the ancienter City It seems there were other Pretenders to the honour of being his Countrymen for Joseph in Ap. 11. saith it is as hard to tell his Country as Homer's But yet it is harder to tell the year of his Birth I am doubtfull whether it ought not to be the year 605 before Christ. But I rather place it here for Reasons that will appear afterwards in the years 506 and 497 before Christ. Pythagoras's Age 2 Θ. PERIANDER died 40 years before Years before Christ 585 Olympiads 48 4. Croesus and 1 year before Olymp. XLIX D. Laert. 1 95. from Sosicrates He had reigned at Corinth 44 years Arist. Pol. v 12. Of the VII Wise men of Greece he was the first that died The other VI were Thales Solon Cleobulus Chilo Bias and Pittacus thus reckon'd by Diog. Laert. Prooem 13 and 1.40 1 2. Olympiads 48 4. THALES this year foretold an Eclipse of Pythagoras's Age 2 the Sun He was the first among the Greeks that could do this Cicero de Divin I. Years before Christ 583 2. Olympiads 49 2. Pythagorae 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to Antilochus Pythagoras's Age 4 who in his History of Learned Men reckon'd 312 years from hence to Epicurus's death which was 270 years before Christ Olymp. CXXVII 2. Gamelion 10. Cic. de fato D. Laert. X 15. and Clem. Alex. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Years before Christ 580 79. Olympiads 50 N. ARISTEAS Proconnesius was born this Pythagoras's Age 7 Olymp. Suidas It was after Olymp. L. that Pythagoras came into Italy saith D. Halicarn lib. 11. p. 120. But H. Valesius and Menagius think this is a mistake of Olymp. NÌ„ instead of Olymp. Ξ Years before Christ 578 Olympiads 50 3. Θ. Tarquinius Priscus died Next King Pythagoras's Age 9 Servius Tullius Dion Hal. III. Years before Christ 572 Olympiads 52 Began the Tyranny of PHALARIS according Pythagoras's Age 15 to Suidas and Eus. Chron. Pontaci which saith it continued 16 years Eus. Chron. in a former account hath his Tyranny according to Scaliger's Edition beginning Olymp. XXXI 2 and ending Olymp XXXVIII 2. Here also according to Scaliger it should be LIII 4. Pythagoras's Age 15 ANACREON Teius lived in this Olymp. Olympiads 52 It was in Polycrates's time Suidas Pythagoras's Age 15 AESOP the Fable-maker now flourish'd Olympiads 52 D. Laert 1 72. Pythagoras's Age 17 Θ. PITTACUS died at Mitylene D. Laert Years before Christ 570 Olympiads 52 3. 1 79. Pythagoras's Age 17 Pythagoras being 18 years old went Years before Christ 568 7. Olympiads 53 1. to travel as on the account of his Studies Jamblichus c. 2. for which by Thales he was advised to go to Aegypt Ib. D. Laert VIII 2. saith he was then a young Man and addicted to Learning But his going for Aegypt was to avoid the growing Tyranny of Polycrates Strabo XIV and Jamblichus c. 2. Yet Polycrates writ a Letter in his Commendation to King Amasis being his Friend and Hospes desiring him to get him instructed by the Aegyptian Priests D. Laert. and Porph. from Antipho Iamblichus c. 2. saith he went first to Pherecydes then to Anaximander then to Thales Id. c. 3. then to Sidon to Byblus to Tyre and many other Cities of Syria in all which places he was initiated Then he took Ship for Aegypt but by the way he landed and went up Mount Carmel Iamblichus c. 3. He came into Aegypt Isocr de laud. Busiridis Cic. de finibus v. Strab. XIV Plin. XXV 2. Lucian Tatian Clem. Alex He gave Polycrates's Letter to Amasis and obtained Amasis's Letter to the Aegyptian Priests D. Laert. and Porph. from Antipho With this Letter he came first to them of Heliopolis they sent him to them of Memphis their Seniors they to the Diospolites who at first were very shy but fearing to displease Amasis they undertook him thinking at first to balk him with their Austerities But he underwent all saith Porphyry from Antipho He was circumcised and initiated in their Sacred Rites Clement Alex. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He learnt the Aegyptian Language he learnt their three sorts of Letters They admitted him to their Sacrifices and Exercises of Learning which none ever obtain'd before D. Laert. from Antipho He learnt of their Priests the manner of their Sacrifices and their religious Rites Isocr de l. Busir He read the Books of their ancient Priests Clem. Alex. He learnt their Geometry and Astronomy Jambl. c. 4. He got the Observations of infinite Ages Valer. Maximus VIII 7. He was in Aegypt a long time as all confess Plut. Q. Symposiac VIII 8.22 years saith Jambl. c. 4. This I believe was all the time of his Eastern Travels He also went to the King of Arabia and learnt all he could there Porph. Strabo XIV p. 439 18 c. saith from Aâ—gypt he went to Babylon There he was with the Chaldees and Magi. D. Laert. There at Babylon he learnt of several of the Chaldees particularly of Zabratus by whom he was purged from all the Desilements of his former Life Porph. He was Disciple of Nazaratus the Assyrian Clem. Alex. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He went to the Persian Magi. Cic. de finibus V. Plin. XXV 2. Of them he learnt matters of their Religion and way of Living D. Laert. from Lycus There he came to learn and understand the Jewish knowledge particularly their Oniromancy Porphyry from Diogen In his return from Babylon he came to Crete to get Minos's Laws Justin V 4. After his being with the Chaldees and Magi he was there in Crete with Epimenides D. Laert. VIII 3. He was purged by the Priests of Morgus one of the Idaean Dactyli Porph. He went into the Idaean Cave Ib. The Priests there have the Verses that he made on the Sepulchre of Jupiter Ib. After his return from Babylon he came home to Samos Strabo XIV So D. Laert. and Porph. from Antipho There he open'd a School in a place call'd in Antipho's time Pythagorae Hemicyclus D. Laert and Porph. from Antipho There he also had a Cave without the Town into which he retir'd for his Studies Id. and Id. This is the summ